Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Grows Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 169.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,188 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,633 shares during the quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Linde were worth $1,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Linde by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,834,631,000 after buying an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,598,551,000 after acquiring an additional 30,750 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Linde by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,857,741,000 after acquiring an additional 554,480 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $2,901,853,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Linde by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,925,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,062,085,000 after buying an additional 500,489 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock traded down $3.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $450.67. 1,666,348 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,936,980. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $451.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.04.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LIN. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Linde Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.